Author: Center for Intercultural Dialogue

Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz, the Director of the Center for Intercultural Dialogue, manages this website.

Musician Without Borders: Riff Cohen

Applied ICD

“A musician without borders, singer-songwriter Riff Cohen shares her vision about intercultural dialogue in an interview for Culture(s) with Vivendi.

Born in Tel Aviv from a father of Tunisian origin and an Algerian mother who lived in France, Riff Cohen grew up in a multicultural environment. In her first album, A Paris (AZ, 2013), the young artist creates an atypical musical style, as eclectic as her origins. According to Riff Cohen, music can bridge cultures and foster mutual understanding.”

I think music is also a language…

Source: (2014). Riff Cohen: “I create a new culture that combines my different origins”. Vivendi.

See her YouTube channel to watch all her videos.

European U Institute: Research Fellow (Italy)

Postdocs
Research Fellow in the
Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, Migration Policy Centre, European University Institute, Florence, Italy. Deadline: 18 November 2022.

The European University Institute’s Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCAS) carries out research on the major issues facing Europe, bridging the world of academia and practice through interdisciplinary and applied research. The Research Fellow will be based at the Migration Policy Centre (MPC) which is part of the RSCAS. The MPC is a multi-disciplinary research centre that conducts advanced research on the transnational governance of international migration, asylum and mobility. It aims to provide new ideas, rigorous evidence and critical thinking to inform major European and global policy debates.

This position is for a research fellow to work on DYNAMING (funded by HorizonEurope, Jan 2023 – Dec 2025), a new international research and policy project that will analyse the decision-making of potential and actual migrants, and how migrants’ decisions and behaviour – and migration processes more broadly – are perceived and understood by policy actors. DYNAMIG will have a strong focus on migration from and within Africa. Led by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the DYNAMIG consortium includes eight research institutions across Europe and Africa, including MPC.

The Research Fellow will carry out research work in an independent manner and collaborate on the research work of the project. Working closely with Prof. Martin Ruhs, and collaborating with African partner institutions that will conduct interviews and surveys in Africa, the Research Fellow will provide analyses of how European and African policy actors perceive and think about migrants’ decision-making and broader migration processes, and of the ideas and understandings of migrants’ behaviour underpinning migration (and migration-related) policies. Project outputs will include academic publications (at least 2 journal articles), blog posts, and policy briefs.

International Virtual Exchanges

Intercultural Pedagogy

D’Agostino, Susan. (2022, August 31). Virtual exchanges promote equity in global learning. Inside Higher Education.

This article describes a virtual exchange project between students in the USA coordinated with students from Iraq on the topic of the United Nations’ sustainability goals. They examined sustainability challenges in their respective communities, working together both synchronously and asynchronously. Then they worked together on solving a single applied problem.

The most common virtual exchange programs focus on intercultural dialogue and peace building; science, technology, engineering and mathematics; and global or international affairs…

Study abroad programs often target students who have adequate financial support to cover the costs, and so are not as often accessible to students who do not. Virtual exchanges bypass that difficulty, while still providing much of the cultural exchange and learning. As study abroad programs were substantially curtailed due to the pandemic, this is also a good way to maintain international connections when travel is limited.

The program supporting this particular example is the Stevens Initiative, “a U.S. government–funded initiative administered by the Aspen Institute that works to expand virtual exchange options to regions of the world where U.S. students have not studied abroad in large numbers, including in the Middle East and North Africa.”

U Melbourne: PhD Studentship in Applied Linguistics (Australia)

“Studentships“

Ph.D. Studentship in Applied Linguistics, School of Languages and Linguistics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. Deadline: 25 November 2022.

The University of Melbourne invites applications from suitably and highly qualified candidates for a PhD scholarship in the Applied Linguistics discipline, with a specific focus on sociolinguistics issues. The PhD scholarship is part of a larger Australian Research Council DECRA project led by Dr Trang Nguyen. The aim of the DECRA project is to investigate migrant youth’s experiences and management of linguistic discrimination, and its impact on their linguistic citizenship, in the regional Australian context. The successful applicant must commence by 27 February 2023, and will be enrolled in the School of Languages and Linguistics, the University of Melbourne. The candidate will pursue an independent research project under the supervision of Dr Trang Nguyen and Professor John Hajek. The candidate will join the DECRA team and is expected to actively contribute to the wider project, while also responsible for the development of their own research agenda.

 

UNESCO: We Need to Talk: Measuring Intercultural Dialogue for Peace & Inclusion

“UNESCO”

UNESCO. (2022). We Need to Talk: Measuring Intercultural Dialogue for Peace and Inclusion. Paris, France: UNESCO.

UNESCO 2022 We need to talk report coverIn addition to providing 5 case studies, and 5 think pieces, this new global report from UNESCO provides several explanations for understanding intercultural dialogue:

ICD …is a process undertaken to realize transformative communication that requires space or opportunities for engagement and a diverse group of participants committed to values such as mutual respect, empathy and a willingness to consider different perspectives. (UNESCO & IEP, 2020, p. 6)

ICD is understood as a process undertaken to realise transformative communication across cultures and identities (UNESCO & IEP, 2022, p. 12)

As made clear in these two quotes, “We Need to Talk builds upon earlier work outlined in the Conceptual and Technical Framework, published by UNESCO and IEP in 2020…ICD does not occur in a vacuum; instead, it requires specific structures, skills and processes to support it…Using the data from the Framework, this report analyses key trends and provides deeper interrogation of insights, particularly the effect of ICD on broader development and security outcomes.” (p. 6)

…the core purpose of the global report is to help governments, civil society stakeholders and other practitioners see the value of ICD, understand it conceptually, and know how to support it in practice. (p. 7)

Nazarbayev U: Inclusive Education/Multilingual Education (Kazakhstan)

“JobProfessor/Associate Professor/Assistant Professor in Inclusive Education or in Multilingual Education, Nazarbayev University, Nur-Sultan, Republic of Kazakhstan. Deadline: 30 October 2022.

Nazarbayev University was launched in 2010 as a premier national and regional flagship research university, partnering with some of the most internationally recognized names in higher education. The Graduate School of Education (GSE) was launched in 2013 with partners at the University of Cambridge and the University of Pennsylvania. Due to expansion, GSE invites applications for Full Professors, Associate Professors and Assistant Professors for faculty positions in the areas of Inclusive Education and Multilingual Education beginning in January / August, 2023.

The successful candidates will be expected to teach postgraduate courses in the M.Sc. in Educational Leadership program (one of 4 specializations: Inclusive Education; Multilingual Education; Higher Education; and School Education), the M.A. in Multilingual Education program, and/or the PhD in Education program. There will be a new Education Doctorate program from 2023, so they will prioritize applicants who have experience directing and teaching at the doctoral level.

ActionAid: Global Advocacy and Grant Coordinator, Anti Racist Public Education (S Africa, UK, Kenya or Brazil)

“Job

Global Advocacy and Grant Coordinator, Anti Racist Public Education, ActionAid, to be based in Johannesburg, London, Nairobi or Rio de Janeiro. Deadline: 3 November 2022.

This role will support the development of ambitious progress on anti-racist public education globally, working in close dialogue with a transformative programme in Brazil. You will lead global advocacy on anti-racist public education, connecting with and drawing learning from around the world to influence global policies and practices. This will include engaging with UN Special Rapporteurs, with UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report, and with processes to influence the post-2030 SDG agenda to make issues around racial equity in education a global priority. You will work in close partnership with the School of Education at the University of Bristol who are developing a database of anti-racist education initiatives and a roadmap for transformation. You will also connect closely with wider movements such as the Global Campaign for Education, Education International and the Global Student Forum.

Most importantly you will be connecting with the hugely ambitious transformative work of the SETA project in Brazil, which is working with black, indigenous and quilombo movements, together with the national education campaign, towards a shared vision of a Brazilian public education system built on the principles of racial and social justice where every young person can access their right to quality education. The team in Brazil aims to transform the public education ecosystem in Brazil and to institutionalise a racial equity approach in policy and practice, influencing wider societal attitudes, transforming data and monitoring, shifting government policies and practices, training managers and teachers and mobilising youth and students.

Western Washington U: Intercultural Communication (USA)

“Job

Assistant Professor of Intercultural Communication, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, USA. Application review begins 7 November 2022, position open until filled.

The Department of Communication Studies at Western Washington University (WWU) invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Intercultural Communication with additional expertise in Health Communication. Applicants must also be qualified to teach an introductory survey of Communication Theory. The successful candidate will teach existing courses at the undergraduate level, including some combination of Intercultural Communication, Health Communication, Communication Theory, Communication Diversity & Controversy, Communication, Identity & Difference, as well as other classes as needed.

TalkingPoints: Connecting Immigrant Families to Teachers

Applied ICD

TalkingPoints uses technology to tackle barriers between parents and teachers across language and culture differences by creating two-way human and machine translation.

In addition, the app helps families support their children’s learning through in-app and text message content. At the same time, the app provides coaching, scaffolding, and professional development for teachers.

For details, watch the Ted Talk by Heejae Lim, the founder and CEO, as she explains both why she started the company, and how it works.

Everyday Democracy (USA)

Events

Everyday Democracy is a USA-based organization whose mission is to help communities work equitably and inclusively to build a strong democracy. The dialogue-to-change approach is central to their work, and is grounded in race and intergenerational equity.

One of their strategies is to build a network of organizations across the US that see themselves as part of a larger movement for strengthening democratic capacity for equitable community voice and change. Their Anchor Network is comprised of organizations across the US committed to community engagement and using approaches such as dialogue to change, to promote racial and intergenerational equity.

The next orientation session for potential Anchor Partners will be held 1 November 2022. This is open to any local, state, or national organization interested in joining the network. Registration is required. For further information, contact Lauren Litton with questions.